The Family Research Council filed this "friend of the court" brief with the New Jersey Supreme Court to defend traditional marriage in an important pending marriage case. In this case, seven same-sex couples challenged the constitutionality of New Jersey's marriage laws which protect traditional marriage and prohibit same-sex couples from marrying. In June 2005 the New Jersey Appellate Division affirmed the trial court's 2003 ruling to uphold the state marriage laws, and the state supreme court subsequently accepted the case on appeal. The Family Research Council filed this brief in defense of marriage in New Jersey as a union between one man and one woman.